1753 Crawford Road
Hough Avenue Savings and Banking Company, Hough Bank and Trust Company, Cleveland Trust Company, Hough Federal Credit Union
A few weeks ago, I saw this structure posted in a Facebook Group I’m a member of. I knew I’d have an hour of free time in Cleveland soon, so I jotted down a few notes and pinned the address so I could stop by.
When I arrived, it was raining cats and dogs. I had a rain jacket on, but I knew I wouldn’t have very long to snap a few photos before I would need to retreat underneath a tree or the bus stop a short walk away.
I was able to snap enough photos I was happy with, so I stood under a big tree and waited for the rain to slow so I could continue on my journey.
After returning to Detroit, I dug into the little history I could find on this stunning structure.
This building was built in the 1890s for the Hough Avenue Savings and Banking Company. The business would change its name to the Hough Bank and Trust Company in the early 1900s. By the 1930s, it would become a Cleveland Trust Company Bank branch.
The population of Hough, the neighborhood surrounding the bank, peaked in 1960 at just over 70,000 people. In the ensuing years, the area would become majority black, making up 88.4% of the population in 2020. Cleveland, as a whole, sits at just under 50%.
Like other cities across the Rust Belt, Cleveland had racial tension in the 1960s. In 1966, a rebellion erupted at The Seventy-Niner's Café, a bar at the corner of 79th and Hough, a quarter mile from this bank.
After the rocks were thrown, buildings were burned, and arrest paperwork was filled out, four black Clevelanders were dead, and over 200 citizens were in jail. Similar to events in Detroit in 1967, the neighborhood would never be the same, including the area surrounding the bank building at 1753 Crawford Road. However, there were revitalization efforts here, too.
On April 22, 1970, the Hough Federal Credit Union was established and occupied the old bank building. By 1972, the organization had 720 members. The credit union was formed by Hough residents and operated to support the neighborhood and those who lived there. At the time, Jeanetta Brown was president.
I’m not sure when the Hough Federal Credit Union closed its doors; however, the structure isn’t in great shape today. The exterior is tattered, but the roof has started to fail. Even with the damage, this structure is worthy of rehabilitation.
Hopefully, the next time I roll through Cleveland, work will have started to redevelop this one!
One last thing—Hough is pronounced huff (or huhf). Wild, huh?
